After Twillight
by Hitoya
Summary: Aura of the Twillight. Between Night and Day. What if the scales were tipped towards darkness? A warped Aura.
1. Start of the Dusk

After Twillight

---

Kaori...

Can you hear me...

Reach through your darkness...

Find your light...

---

A single thought, perhaps a memory, flittered thorough her head. Through her mind's eyes she saw a woman, with tired eyes and matted brown hair. Slouching tiredly the woman worked her hands through a little girl with black hair, just as dirty as the older woman's, and whispered something to the child.

((_Kaori, watch them fall, watch them cry, can you save them?))_

The wavemaster, Kaori, shook her head violently. First she needed to find shelter from the cold ice and the monsters dwelling in the field. Afterwards, then maybe she could think of the jumble of fragmented memories and non-sensual data that floated through her mind. She trudged forward through the sleet, searching for warmth.

Exhausted as she was, it hardly registered when she stumbled over her one of her boots, and plunged, headfirst, into the mixture of snow and ice.

---Truth- Dreams of Reality ---

A girl fell to the floor of her empty apartment. The V.R. gear she was wearing slipping off her head and onto the floor next to her revealing open clouded eyes. The screen on the computer was flashing, 'GAME OVER'. And really, the game was over, for it was to be much more than a game, soon, very soon.

--- Lies- A False World ---

A boy was questing in the frosty snowfield area when he came to a character lying face down in the middle of the area. He ran up to the person and realized it was a girl. The character was a fairly typical wavemaster skin, but not too common for girls to have, most opting for the jester-type look. Fairly tall, she wore a long black spell caster's robe with a scarlet sash tied around her waist and on her wrists were two similarly colored bracers. Black bangs hung above her eyes with a small parting and from the base of her neck started a braid that ended at her waist. In the gap was a tattoo of four crimson diamonds in the formation of a larger one. She probably hadn't been playing for very long judging by the weak staff the girl had equipped. Of course, he could be wrong, occasionally older players used weaker weapons, to give themselves more of a challenge. He himself had done that before, a few times.

Having examined the character's appearance he decided that he should check on how the character's actual condition. If the body was still here, and no ghost character was walking around, then she wasn't actually dead, just had low HP and possibly a status aliment. So he'd try a healing potion and wait to see if it had helped. If it didn't he could cure whatever status aliment she had with either an antidote or a restorative.

Slowly the female character sat up and regarded the long arm player standing above her. The long arm bent down and greeted her, "Hi! I found you heavily damaged in the field. What were you doing here? Newbies shouldn't try to go on the Lambda server fields, stick to Theta." All this was said rather fast, coming out of the grinning mouth of the boy. In her silence the boy seemed to remember basic manners and asked, "Are you alright? Does your character have any status aliments? I can help you out with those, I have plenty of antidotes and restoratives."

"I'm fine," she said speaking in a her quiet voice. Quietly she stood up and dusted herself off. She took the time to examine the other player. He had a long skinny teal ponytail starting where his head sat upon his neck. For his facial features, he had a good-natured face that looked as if the wide grin he was sporting now never came off, and light blue eyes. His character had the usual ankle length loose pants of his class, in a blue color. His chest was bare, with the exception of an open vest that had a forest green coloring. Unlike most characters, he had chosen to keep his avatar symbol-free. Then she murmured a quiet question, "Whats your name?"

He looked up and answered, "Yaoshii, and yours?"

She looked startled for a second then thought a moment and answered back, "Kaori."

Yaoshii stood up and spoke, "Well, be seeing you Kaori. Here's my member address give me a shout if you ever need to. I'll be going now; see you around!" With those words of parting he gave a small wave and gated out.

There was no reason to stay in this field any longer. If the boy had been here wandering around, and left after finding her, he must have already opened the Gotz Statue treasure chest, otherwise he wouldn't have left. She sighed and stared up at the sky and then she too, gated out. She'd try another field, and following his advice stay on the Delta server until she was ready for a stronger one.

---

The wind riffled through Kaori's hair as she looked at the hazy sunset. She was in a level one field on Delta Server and had already cleared the field of all monsters but didn't want to enter the dungeon today. It would be getting dark soon, with the new update that with certain keywords the field changed from night and day. Most players would be logging off the Japanese server then, as it would be fairly late. She turned around and began leave. In the distance she heard a cry. It sounded familiar, and she paused for a second before she could place the voice. Then she recognized it as Yaoshii. Kaori ran off as fast as she could go in the direction she heard his cry, which because of her class was none to speedy, but it would have to do.

---Hints- A Cryptic Message---

Yaoshii...

This fragile fantasy...

When does it cross the line....

and become real?

_---Lies- A false World ---_

"This shouldn't be happening!" Yaoshii cried out. The monster had come out of nowhere in the dungeon, it had just fallen from the ceiling without so much as a portal or 'battle mode on' message. The thing's name was jumbled so he had no idea what it was with the corrupted graphics and was a lot stronger than anything should be on this low-level field, or server even. _Could this be what attacked the girl? It was strange for her to be knocked out without a status ailment. Maybe a hacker put this here, nothing like this should even exist in this game._

The monster lifted its hefty axe, and brought it down and then swung it length-wise across Yaoshii's stomach. With the blow, blood spurted out from his abdomen, accompanied by a blinding pain. He crouched down over, cradling his stomach as blood continued to pour out of the wound. The monster raised its ax again preparing another strike. This one got him across the shoulder but was more than enough to overcome the initial shock of being able to feel the pain.

((Please let this be a really bad dream, a nightmare, don't let this be real oh please, ohpleaseohpleaseohplease…))

"Ahhhh! Someone, anyone, help me!" he screamed out in his agony, he couldn't even defend himself currently, his weapon, had been thrown aside by his insanely strong opponent.

Then a voice came and a figure but he couldn't manage to look up to see the person, but it sounded like a little girl, "What would you **do **if I helped you, since you ever so politely asked for my help young sir?"

"Anything, anything, just hurry!" He yelled. The monster was readying the ax again, looking an executioner ready to behead the offender of its majesty's.

The girl clapped and the monster disappeared, "Good, in return take this please. We can play again another time." The unnamed girl crouched down and placed an item next to Yaoshii's hand on the ground. "It's called the Midnight Orb," She told the half-conscious Heavy Spear user, "Don't lose it." And with that she disappeared with a giggle.

Yaoshii with half-lidded eyes looked up weakly to see the orb. It was circular and transparent blackish-green color. He reached out weakly for the item. Upon contact it contracted and then increased in size eventually swelling so Yaoshii himself was inside it. Then it shrank and absorbed into the user. Yaoshii fell hard on the ground.

--- Truth- Dreams of Reality ---

A boy was screaming and convulsing in front of his computer. He was yelling incomprehensible gibberish and then all was silent. He slumped into his chair and then gave final twitch of movement. The screen was flashing with the large all capital letters spelling out the words 'GAME OVER'

--- Lies- A False World ---

Kaori arrived at Yaoshii to see him lying on the ground covered in blood his clothes in tatters. His sea-green hair was out of its usual ponytail and had sticky crimson in it clumping it together. The Heavy Spear User's blue loose ankle length pants, had various rips and his open forest green vest had blood soaked through it from his chest. Most interesting of all was the fresh but rapidly fading healed scar on his chest, shaped like the symbol of infinity. All his defense equipment appeared untouched like the bracers on his arms. Instead strangely their seemed that his weapon had been upgraded and before his body was blank of symbols a rune had appeared on his upper right arm, it was diagonal from right to left and shaped like a three pronged fork with two smaller left to right lines going through the center.

The sorceress character cast a healing spell, La Repth, weak as it was, it would have to do, and as it was the best she had. Shivering slightly she sat down on the cold night ground to wait for him to revive. The small bit of healing magic helped apparently, as Yaoshii's clothes returned to normal but it was a little while till he was awake again and able to heal the major damages done to his HP.

As soon as he was awake he automatically gained back his usual cheerful attitude. He smiled widely, "Kaori, thanks for helping." Yaoshii remembered the monster attack but he had forgotten, something, something very important.

The timid girl just nodded passively before asking another question, "So, what happened?"

He continued his grin, "Ah, just a monster attacked me, and I wasn't expecting something all to strong on this server or in specific this field. Because it's pretty low level, you know. But it's kind of strange, this sort of thing happening twice, because when I found you were unconscious without any sort of status ailment or being dead either. So I'm going to ask, when I found you what had happened before that?"

"I was in the Snow Field after I cleared a dungeon. It was really hard because my party had abandoned me and I was too low a level to be on the Lambda server by myself. Because I didn't have a sprite ocarina I had to walk up out of the dungeon by myself. On the B2 level I saw a suspicious character and stalked after her. The avatar was probably hacked into because you aren't to have avatars that look like children anymore and this one had the appearance of a little girl. Eventually she noticed me and got really angry, I have no idea why. But her reaction after that initial anger was really quite strange; she gave me an odd little smile and then said something. And then..." she trailed off, "I don't remember. Funny thing that short term memory is."

--- Musings- Signs of Insanity ---

Aura. A being with the ability to be evil or good. Thanks to Tsukasa she was the 'proper' Aura. But was she really? The Twilight Items. They seem to revolve around her, but the girl was good, wouldn't the name and nature of the items change. Twilight is the period before day or night. But what if the balance of Twilight was tipped and Aura was warped. Would the items still be of the Twilight?

--- Borderline- No More Twilight ---

Aura sat in her dark little domain, the place Tsukasa had come to know as sanctuary. Her domain was constantly changing as always, but it no longer was occasionally bright and at other times dark and dreadful. It had no trace of the childish innocence or wondrous fantasy left. Instead it seemed slightly malicious, and very dreary, with a promise of things horrible, yet to pass.

Currently it was like a dungeon with a ceiling opening to the heavens but no matter how high you climbed you could never get past those walls. Aura sat on her bed and played with her teddy bear. Then came a cruel smile and the head was decapitated and flung across the room. She had more interesting toys to play with now.

---Truth- Dreams of Reality ---

Sirens went off as two teens were rushed to the hospital. Both were in critical condition. The boy had cuts and scars all over his body and was bleeding badly. The neighbors said they heard a scream but no evidence of anyone breaking in and hurting him. And the wounds were defiantly fresh.

The girl was in better shape than him. She seemed to be in a very strong coma. It was unlikely she would be waking up anytime soon. Physically she was alright but one thing puzzled the doctors. Her eyes were wide open but blank, impossibly blank, no pupils, and no whites, just an iris the color overtaking all.

Even more disturbing was no record of either of them was found anywhere. Nothing. It was as if the two of them never existed. If they were unable to find a trace of who they were the hospital wouldn't be able to care for them with no one to pay the expenses.

--- Lies- A False World ---

Kaori lay on a sloped hill in Dun Loireag as the wind rippled through the grass.

((It's really pretty for pixels overlaid onto a headset. Too beautiful to be real, but that's the thing about the game, it was too good to be real))

Beside her was Yaoshii. Neither felt like logging out much they would rather let themselves be bathed in virtual moonlight and starlight. Neither really noticed that the background music wasn't the usual Dun Loireag theme.

---Noise- Whispers on the Wind ---

Held in young hands

The light is Shivering

I've come all this way

Wandering along the edges of time.

I came, searching still

Without even knowing your name, but

One little feeling

I only wanted to hand over to you

Sometimes I catch and hold

Love and pain, Tightly in my arms

It will fade away, but

I'll remember it... Always

It has been echoing in my chest

For who knows how long

Although its a whisper smaller

then a drop of evening fog

Towards the darkness of the frozen stars

A twirling prayer

May it reach your distant sky...

-Radical Dreamers


	2. Reddening of the Sky

**Alley Drendo:  **Thank you for reviewing!  Warped Aura scares me, too.  Even though I created her.  ^^;  

Warnings:  This chapter has excessive blood and is I guess a little weird.  Beware the False Aura!  Erm, slightly Serial Experiments Lain inspired.  I think that deserves to have a warning too.  

~*~ 

.hack//dawn

~*~Lies- A False World~*~

Kaori walked up the hill in front of her.  For some reason she couldn't even begin to imagine her sprite ocarina wasn't working so she had to walk rather than warp to log out point.  This morning when the sun started to rise she suddenly realized Yaoshii wasn't with her.  'He probably logged out sometime during the night' she thought.  

She sighed and continued up the steep incline.  "I wish I had a puchiguso, right now!"  Kaori murmured bitterly.  Eventually she reached the top of the hill and saw some users gathered around the Chaos Gate.  

She raised her staff as if to log out.  At first it seemed like she was exiting as the gold warp rings flowed around her body.  Then it stopped and it was dark far as the eye could see.  

~*~ Borderline- No More Twilight ~*~

Aura giggled as she looked at her new toy.  She cooed, "Oh, your so much more fun compared to last one!"

Yaoshii was pinned to what appeared to be a giant black and purple candy-cane that stuck out of the walls of Aura's sick wonderland.  "Da-DAMN YOU!"  he yelled out before coughing up more blood.

Aura barely fluttered an eyelash.  "You shouldn't use language like that around kiddies," her giggling became hysterical, "the naughty boy must be punished!"

A spike grew out quickly from the stalk and pierced Yaoshii's stomach straight through before quickly retreating into from which it came.  The small girl let another small laugh escape her as the blood flowed from him.  "The best part is when you die, you lose a little bit of you and get a little part of me!"  She winked and disappeared.  In Yaoshii's current state he didn't even her the girl much less comprehend her statement.

The ropes binding the boy loosened after she made her departure and Yaoshii slipped to the chessboard floor.  Slowly he regained his feet.  He staggered though the place looking for a return.  A trail of blood marked his way.  

~*~ Void- Error: No Data Found ~*~

Kaori wandered through the darkness.  It seemed that no matter how much she walked there would never be an end, just an eternal void.  'It's as if I was trying to find the light at the end of the tunnel, the braided girl mused, 'Except according to Murphy's Law the light would be an oncoming train.'

As soon as this train of thought was completed a dim light shone through the place like a beacon.  In the half-light a girl was clearly visible, the girl Kaori had seen in the winter world.  

"Its you.  The girl in the snow field."  Kaori sounded a little shocked.  

The small child nodded and smiled.  Kaori ran towards the young character.  Perhaps she knew a way out.  The child reached out and touched Kaori's hand and warped out.

Kaori's memories became jumbled and the old memories that she hadn't bothered to make sense of fragmented and joined with others.  Kaori appeared in a field on the Theta server. 

~*~ Musings- Signs of Insanity ~*~ 

All things must change nothing can stay the same forever.  Or so it has been said.  A child who would never grow up and in a desperate attempt to stay the same fled.  Fled to a fantasy world.  The World changed and she did not.  Eventually she changed but still refused to grow, what she strove to achieve, eternal childhood corrupted her.  In the real world she died but she continued living in her world.  After all how do you kill something that was never alive in the first place?

~*~ Borderline- No More Twilight ~*~

Yaoshii convulsed violently as something came forth from within himself.  It was the Midnight Orb bestowed on him by Aura.  The object seemed to liquidize itself and flowed silently into Yaoshii's wounds.  The gaping wounds closed and became thin scars then disappeared all together.  When Yaoshii's eyes reopened they were a shade darker.  

The boy shook his head and warped out to the Delta server with Kaori's missing Sprite Ocarina.  

~*~ Truth- Dreams of Reality ~*~

Hitoare shook her computer as on the monitor was the luminous words, 'Server Down.  _The World _is ending.'  The message clearly stated that the game she had grown to love so much was being deleted.  After a final shake she shut down and restarted her computer.  Most likely it was hackers again.

Still sitting in front of the terminal waiting for it to restart Hitoare contemplated the worlds shut down.  She had heard rumors almost squashed down by the administrator and obscured by time.  By no means was she a new player but the last time according to the bits she picked up was five years ago with Shuugo.  That was most the extent of her knowledge besides remembering it had something to deal with an A.I. and illegal item.  

She'd been playing about three years so by no means was she a newbie but she wasn't as advanced as the players of legend such as Balmung or Subaru.  After the computer restarted she saw the ridiculous message was gone.  She typed in her username and password and waited patiently for the computer to log her in.

'Username recognized.  Welcome back Hitoare.' The computer told her in its oddly female mechanical voice.  Not really paying attention Hitoare quickly decided to log in and scan the message boards later.  

~*~ Lies a False World ~*~

Gold rings surrounded a player the sign that she had either warped or just logged in.  The player was a Twin Blade and had her two blades fastened to her thighs.  Dark blue spiky hair slightly less than shoulder length, a style similar to the player of Rena, a character she remembered seeing when she first started the game decorated her head.  A black ribbon was tied around her forehead like a bandana keeping the bangs from her eyes.  Her eyes were bright green and below her left eye on her cheek was a small blue marking a circle in the middle of a crucifix.  Her pants were plain black with two loose belts around her waist a blade hanging from each of them.  On the shoulder lay light iron armor decorated with sharp small spikes that covered the shoulders and nothing else. A light blue long sleeved shirt was the only upper body garment she had beside the armor.  

Hitoare's eyes scanned her surroundings and then widened.  The message on her screen before no longer seemed so ridiculous.  The buildings of Carmina Gadelica were now just wreckage and twisted metal with various debris and the few standing buildings had gaping voids like half of the data had been ripped out.  Monsters that she had never seen the like of before came crawling out of the void tearing up various things.  Her head swung about wildly as she realized she was the only player here.  

She started back up in fear forgetting that it was only a game as the controller was sweaty in her palms.  She heard a soft 'aaa' sound as if it was warning her of something.  Quickly she gated out of the server.  Less than a second after that a building toppled down on the spot she had been standing just an instant before.

~

The twin blade character reappeared at the Sinking Distant Paradise Mushrooms on the Theta server.  The field seemed to be untouched by what ever hit Carmina Gadelica.  Silently she mused to herself that perhaps Dun Loriag's server really was protected by 'A Weaver Guardian'.  

It was always dusk here, a field created by her knowledge of passwords.  The forever slowly sinking sun had a few wispy clouds in the red orange skies and mushrooms giant mushrooms were scattered throughout.  All the enemies here were beatable for her and she had little to worry about.  Today the spot seemed even better than usuasal after seeing the Chaos of Carmina Gadelica. 

~

Kaori stumbled along in the field she had found her self in.  Not even bothering to sort through the confused state of mind she let thoughts, memories, and data alike flash through her head none with anymore priority than the other.

She could clearly see where she was but wasn't making much sense of it.  She saw a figure in the distance.  A fragment flashed through her mind. _Yaoshii_

She stood hesitating for a moment before her vision became clear and sharp.  That wasn't Yaoshii through the mess she could figure out that from that sudden flash this figure was nothing like the boy who had found her.  But it didn't matter there was something that wasn't changing. 

Kaori walked on towards the girl she saw silhouetted against the sunset braid swinging behind her.  She approached the range in which she could see the blue haired girl better.  She was still there.  

Kaori pushed away the jumble and began to focus.  It didn't matter if she didn't know now.  She could try and understand and find the one beacon that shone through her mind.  Yaoshii.

~

A song echoed through Carmina Gadelica barely audible through the chaos and destruction.

~*~Noise- Whispers on the Wind~*~

From the other side of the chasm of Time

The last Message pierces darkness with light

Some warnings are never heeded

Like Invitations to a crazed future

The days are without order, it's way too late

The World is sighing and rumbles

The prophets pray that

Time will forget about us.

The End, The End, The End

In the beginning, we loved ourselves

In the beginning, we loved each other

Heart's scars stitched in marriage

Shred without warning, wicked blood spilling

In a shattered mind, emotions crumble

The earth is dying so to be reborn

Both reason and irrationality

And everything else swallowed away

The End, The End, The End

The earth is sighing and rumbles

The prophets pray that

Time will forget about us.

The End, The End, The End

-The End

Weiß Kreuz

~*~ Authors Notes ~*~

Sorry the chapters so late… ^^;


	3. The Sun Lowers in the Sky

Thanks for the review Wildkat Salem!  I appreciate it.  Not much to say in the author notes in this chapter except an apology for the long wait.  

~*~ Lies- A False World ~*~

Yaoshii sighed as he sat on a bridge overlooking a channel of Mac Anu.  His feet dangled as various characters passed him by scurrying like rats to get to their destination, be it a shop, meeting, or Chaos Gate.   Bored green eyes were glazed over hiding torment as he contemplated his last meeting with the illegal player.  Parts were blurred in his memory, no doubt the irrefutable work of the bastard child.  Words he was sure were to be vital had been blanketed with pain with blood obscuring important statements.  Even his own actions including his rearrival at his current server not quite clear.  

To the distracted Heavy Spear's left came a playful voice, "So, you trying to attract girls by playing the strong silent type or did you fall asleep at the monitor again, Shii?" 

Startled out of his review of events he jumped slightly and fell into the channel.  His head emerged from the water as he kicked his legs to keep his head above water.  "What did you do that for?" he shouted up at the other character.

Continuing his raillery without so much batting an eye the other said in his same teasing voice, "Fell asleep, then.  I should have expected that of you."  Then the player jumped off the bridge landing by the waterside and offered a hand to pull the green-haired boy to the street.  Cautiously the offered hand was taken and Yaoshii pulled himself up to the street.  

Once both were standing up Yaoshii appraised the other character.  Plain short brown hair and black-grey eyes were of little interest.  The other player was a chain blade.  Around the waist a chain was wrapped loosely with an exposed scythe blade attached to the end.  A simple red sleeveless top with two thick vertical lines decorated the slim upper body.  Slightly too long khaki pants that pooled at his bare feet covered his entire lower body.  He had no armor to be seen.  

The chain blade had failed to notice Yaoshii's silence due to the fact he was now happily chattering away about nothing in particular.  Nervously the heavy spear player spoke up, "I'm sorry to interrupt, but do I know you?"

Green bangs covered his downcast eyes in an effort to block out the fact the other player was gawking at him.  The chain blade covered his surprise quickly and mock pouted.  "How like you, Shii, forgetting your best online friend when he leaves for a week because he was grounded."

Almost as though watching an old movie half-asleep he remembered running down the streets of Mac Anu playing tag with the other character, much to the displeasure of the passerby, they're tagging consisted of whacking the other with either a spear or chain depending on who's turn it was to be 'it'.  Grinning he lifted his head, "Just fooling with you, Kasei!"  

The chain-blade 'Kasei' grinned and shoved his friend.  "I should have known better you've always been like that."  Then his lowered as he pulled the green haired player closer so only he could hear.  "Now I have some serious shit to talk about.  Follow me and I'll show you a better place."  

Indiscreetly nodding he walked a little bit away and waved.  "Ja ne Kasei!"  The aforementioned did the same and started in the opposite direction.  Soon after Yaoshii doubled back and indiscreetly followed his friend who he did not remember.  The other player weaved through the crowd making his way to a deserted street, all shops and bars derelict.  The barefooted player entered a building on the far left, that seemed as if it could have been a bar.  

After looking around to make sure no one watched his actions the vested player followed.  Inside everything was coated with a layer of digital dust, footprints left by his friend's entrance.  Situated at a table in the back at the far left was Kasei his feet on the table, pose relaxed; heavily contrasted by the serious expression on his face.  Walking over to the spot he asked his question, "Why do we have to talk here?  Couldn't we have just spoken outside?"  
  


The other shook his head, brown hair falling back into place as he spoke, "My brother is really close to someone who had a bad experience with this game that he doesn't like to talk about.  He'd go ballistic if he found out I was planning on investigating.  I spotted his character so I figured it would be better that he couldn't find out."

"Ah," a simple reply, "So what did you want to talk about?"  
  


His grey eyes closed and he sighed removing his feet from the tabletop.  "Do you really have no idea?  I told you onii-san would get mad if he heard about it."

"I'm sorry, still clueless.  I got the hint that it concerned the world but not much else."

"You must not have watched the news then, or checked the BBS.  Two teens were found in coma."

"That happens occasionally with VR goggles.  They have warnings on the visors for a reason and besides that this game is so popular even people who do have bad experiences start playing again, it's too addictive to stop."  
  


"Its not that.  The two who were found apparently never existed."

"WHAT?!?" 

"No records of they're existence at all.  No dental records, birth certificates, or anything at all.  One of them was found in a really old apartment building that's been condemned and the other was found in the computer lab of Takayama High School.  It's a big mystery, all over the news and the people on the BBS are confused, how could they get hold of computers when both apparently aren't here in Japan legally."

"Then how are you so sure its related to the world?  If they were just found in that condition it's more likely there is another cause."  
  


"Are you kidding?  It's the usuasal stuff.  In coma, found with visors, sprawled out on the floor, by the computer, the only difference is the computers were off but they could have shut down.  The boy player has cuts and scars all over, and the girl had something weird with her eyes.  Whatever caused it's probably pretty bad."

"So you want to do some investigating to find out what caused it."  
  


"Yes."

"Then why talk to me?"

"You've been playing even longer than anyone I know Yaoshii.  You were here even during the time of the [dot] hackers."

"I was a newbie at the end of that event.  You can't expect me to know much about it.  I was just an ordinary player, wasn't involved at all."

"You were around when Shuugo and Rena won the character skins."

"So were you, neither of us knew anything at all about the happenings."

"Damn, you're right.  Still you know anything?  Anything suspicious?"

Yaoshii looked distinctly uncomfortable.  "I'm not sure…"  
  


A suspicious glance bordering on concern was shot at the heavy spear.  "Tell me when you're sure.  Till then mull it over.  I'll be investigating, too."

"Thanks for informing me of the comas.  I have someone to meet now."  The pony-tailed character walked out.  

In the doorway he stumbled slightly.  In that second a ray of simulated light from the street illuminated his right upper arm.  Kasei's eyes widened at the sight.  That rune of the trident with three lines going through the center had not been there before.  He blinked as Yaoshii disappeared by use of Sprite Ocarina.  "Bastard!" he howled in the empty bar, "You knew something and didn't tell me!"

~*~ Hints- A Cryptic Message ~*~

Kasei…

Something's are best left alone…

Ask the brother you tried to avoid…

He'll reveal what's missing…

~*~ Musings- Signs of Insanity ~*~

What is music?  Numbers and mathematics.  Argue if you wish but it is the truth.  How many beats to a measure, octaves, timing is all it is.  What are computers?  Numbers and mathematics.  The answer has not changed.  Binary, C++, and various other programming languages are its only components.  Computers being numbers manipulate other numbers and can create the noises that are as real as the real thing.  Hearing has been conquered.  Since the creation of VR goggles sight has been added.  

Memory has long been shared between the two worlds.  In real life people remember their pasts as computers have physical data in which they store data.  With computers there is hardware and software.  Look at the real world like this: people are hardware, real physical components, their conciseness is software, capable of existence on two planes.  That of VR in the world and that of Earth. 

A girl who is only software lacking hardware has taken a new stop.  Touch.  Who has created the girl?  Harold Hoerwick.  The girl is blurring the line between VR and reality.  Will the two planes converge?  If they do who is to blame?  The woman who wrote the epitaph who caused the creation of the world, the man who created the girl, or is it the girl herself?

~*~ Truth- Dreams of Reality ~*~

A girl in a wheelchair looked up concerned at another girl about who was about the same age.  Both were in a hospital.  The girl with use of her legs was talking to a woman behind a desk.

"Are you sure you wish to take care of the payments for the two?"

The girl nodded.  
  


"Very well then.  I'll alert them that you are to be paying."  The worker said and walked out of the room to tell her superiors.  

The green haired girl in the wheelchair looked up, "Are you sure you can afford this An?"

"Yes Mariko.  I have more than enough money, if I really needed to I could ask Ryo but I doubt it would come to that.  Besides this is important to me.  I have not forgotten past experiences, even if I have started playing the game again."

An gave the other girl a small smile before sitting down in a stiff chair in the hospital's waiting room.  She whispered to herself after sitting, "If only I could help more."

~*~ Borderline- No More Twilight ~*~

The once wonderland had changed it pace again.  No longer a checkerboard dungeon it was know a bog.  Thick fog fell cloaked the area, water that was more solid than liquid caked the poles of the bed and the reconstructed teddy bear appeared to be dressed in a tuxedo.  More teddy bears decked out similarly had instruments in they're fuzzy mock paws.  Aura sat on the bed a smile situated there.  

"Play a new song!" she demanded in the manner of a spoiled child.

The teddy bear that lacked an instrument bowed and turned back to the makeshift orchestra.  It held a conductors baton and waved and music was played.  

~*~ Music-Whispers on the Wind~*~

People all hold more love and dreams

than they can hold with both hands,

and paint those dreams for tomorrow

while entrusting the future to a new-falling star.

If you go step by step,

on your own two legs, without stopping,

before everything your arms touch transforms into phantasms,

you can approach those dreams.

Now begins the unending dream,

while you search for yourself,

sleeping in the depths of your heart.

Now begins the unending journey.

Fix your sights on a faraway time.

People all conceal more loneliness in their hearts

than they can hold with both hands,

and run as their hearts desire from yesterday to tomorrow,

like the way the wind drifts along.

Now begins the unending tomorrow.

Dreams are an ever-playing harmony

within your heart.

Now begins the unending journey.

Fix your sights on a faraway sky.

-Bubblegum Crash

~*~ Author's Notes ~*~

An and Mariko are Tsukasa's and Subaru's real names.  It was a big pain to find that particular tidbit of information.  Most this chapter was conversation, and I apologize for that I need to work on dialogue.  My use of bastard is that in the dictionary bastard non-slang for means illegitimate as in reference to a child.  In the real world currently we do have VR goggles but very primitive compared to [dot]hack's stuff.  But there actually warnings on them saying they can cause seizers, coma, dizziness, and possibly death if used for a prolonged period of time such as five hours.  I assumed they wouldn't take off the warnings considering the world's history so the blame is pinned elsewhere.  

Sorry for the relative shortness of this chapter and the long wait but I'm only twelve so it's not as if you should be expecting much from a person my age.  


	4. Slowly the Moon is Rising

Wildkat Salem: Like I said, their names were the biggest pain to find and even then I can't be sure if what I heard was true, but to the extent of my knowledge Tsukasa and Subaru are An and Mariko.

---Lies- A False World---

Kaori walked up the hill to the player she didn't know. Stumbling, she made her way over rocks up to the top of the hill, breathing ragged like she had run been running from a bullet train moments before. Rocks and dirt slipped down behind her as she approached the flat-topped area.

At last Hitoare was alerted of the other girl's presence as the wave master reached the plateau. She spun on her heels to see the braided girl's raw hands grasp a handful of dirt as she pulled herself up. The twin blade character ran over to the other. Gripping both of her hands Hitoare pulled her up. Kaori smiled up in thanks as she pulled her legs up to the giant mushroom covered plateau.

Hitoare stood up and dusted herself off. After this was finished she looked down at the black-haired girl. Obviously she was new to the game with only the basic equipments adorning her character and the fact she hadn't healed up if she had been a battle hard enough to make character that exhausted. She spoke to the girl on the ground, "What's a new player like you doing in this field? The monsters here aren't that strong but they're too strong for a new starter. There are much easier fields I could show you."

Using her staff as support Kaori pulled herself into a standing position, "I didn't end up here on purpose."

One eyebrow was lifted, "Really, that's interesting. You must have used the wrong word combinations."

Kaori replied, "I didn't use any word combinations! I just ended up here." She looked up to see the blue haired twin blade walking off. "Hey," she called out, "Where are you going?"

The other girl kept on walking; she didn't have time to spend with the newbie. Wasn't there a good dungeon on her level she had heard of last week. She had the stage name written down somewhere but she didn't much feel like removing the visor to look through her room.

Kaori ran after her. "I'm Kaori," she yelled as she attempted to catch up.

The twin blade character looked at her with scorn, "Newbie, if you're really that desperate for friends go to one of the beginner towns. They're loaded with people who would love to play big brother to you. Me, I have better things to do than baby-sit. Bye."

Gold ring encircled Hitoare's character and a second later she was gone. Kaori looked at the empty spot where the girl with blue hair had been moments before. She asked aloud to the empty field, "What's her problem?"

--- Truth- Dreams of Reality ---

"Where are you going, otouto?" From the doorway a person in his late teens questioned another boy, this boy younger, in his mid-to-early teens.

The younger teen ignored his older brother. "Go away, onii-san. I'm just going to the library."

Shifting his position in the doorway so that his younger brother couldn't get out the doorway, "Does this perchance have anything to deal with the fact our connection is down? And the fact the library has really nice computers with the Altamit OS?"

"Fuck off, Matthew. It's not any of your business," he said frustrated as he tried to get through the door.

Matthew's hand descended upon the other boy's head in an open-palmed strike. "You can't talk like that here," he hissed, "This is Japan, we've been living here for over a year now, at least talk politely. Chris, they already don't like us because we aren't Japanese; less than one percent of the people in this country are other nationalities, we don't want to stand out anymore than we already do."

Glaring at Matthew from the floor, Chris answered venomously, "No matter how long we've lived here I'm still American. I will cuss when I damned well want to, weren't you the one who would tell me not to give into peer pressure back in the states! Well, I haven't! I continue talking, dressing, and acting like I always have." He stood up and shoved his older brother out of the way, "I'm going to the library to go online. It's not like there is anything else to do in the over-crowded country!"

Matthew sighed as his brother ran out of his view into the mass of people walking through the streets. Chris didn't have to understand his motives, but he should at the least try and cooperate with him for the time being.

--- Borderline- No More Twilight ---

It was no surprise to Yaoshii that he found himself back in the child's domain. Still, it was unknown to him why the girl would want him in the strange warped field, or what she wanted with him in the first place. Last time she had just called him there to torture him.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out the stolen sprite-ocarina. When he was stuck here last time it had worked to let him escape. He'd have to thank Kaori for it sometime when he got his own, but right now it seemed too much of a vital tool to give it back even if it was not his. Yaoshii stood up and held the instrument close to his mouth. As he was about to use it to warp out the sprite ocarina was knocked out of his hands.

"What! Who did that? I need that!" the green-haired heavy spear player shouted. He looked for the person who knocked his item out of his hands. There was no one at his level. His face was turned down and he found a small teddy bear tugging on his calf-length pants.

He bent down to look at the stuffed animal. "Why did you throw my Sprite Ocarina away?" he questioned it, ignoring the fact that normally toys did not answer your questions.

"I'm very sorry Mr. Yaoshii," the bear squeaked in a high-pitched voice, "but Miss Aura doesn't want you to leave. She says you should stay here for a little while. Just until she gets back."

"Aura- so that's the little sadists name," he said and made a mental note to tell Kasei to investigate all he could find about the girl, "And she wants me to stay here until she gets back and then I can go?"

Politely the bear nodded and answered, "Yes, Mr. Yaoshii, you can leave when she arrives."

"Any idea why I have to stay here if I can leave after she arrives, it's not like she's going to see me," he said leaning back against a bedpost.

"Sorry, but I don't know," the bear told him as it sat on the bed, "Miss Aura doesn't tell me these things."

The two sat in silence.

-

Somewhere else in the world it was raining. There someone was singing

--- Noise- Whispers on the Wind---

I don't feel a thing

and I stopped remembering

The days are just like moments turned to hours

Mother Used to say

if you want, you'll find a way

Bet mother never danced through fire shower

Walk in the rain, in the rain, in the rain

I walk in the rain, in the rain

Is it right or is it wrong

and is it here that I belong

I don't hear a sound

Silent faces in the ground

The quiet screams, but I refuse to listen

If there is a hell

I'm sure this is how it smells

Wish this were a dream, but no, it isn't

Walk in the rain, in the rain, in the rain

I walk in the rain, in the rain

Am I right or am I wrong

and is it here that I belong

Walk in the rain, in the rain, in the rain

I walk in the rain, in the rain

Why do I feel so alone 

For some reason I think of home

-Rain

Cowboy Bebop

---

I think I'm probably managing to piss someone off with this chapter. Almost no developments at all and you had to wait so long for an update.


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